Slapping therapist guilty of manslaughter

An alternative healer has been found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter following the death of a woman at one of his workshops.

Hongchi Xiao, 61, of Cloudbreak in California, was convicted after 71-year-old Danielle Carr-Gomm died from complications related to diabetes in 2016.

The jury at Winchester Crown Court was told she had stopped taking insulin while at a retreat in Wiltshire, where Xiao promoted slapping therapy as a "cure" for the condition.

The jury returned a majority verdict of 11 to one on Friday after 19 hours and 30 minutes of deliberations.

Mr Justice Robert Bright said the jury asked lots of questions and were a "shining example" of the jury system that "we should all be proud of".

Mrs Carr-Gomm had Type 1 diabetes, meaning she had to take insulin every day to keep her blood glucose levels under control.

Yet she had a lifelong fear of needles and had frequently sought other ways to deal with the disease.

She first attended a paida lajin workshop led by Xiao in Bulgaria in July 2016.

Paida lajin, which means "slapping and stretching" is a therapy in which people slap themselves and others in order to expel toxins from the body.

Ms Carr-Gomm believed it worked and delivered glowing testimonials, the court heard.

She decided to attend another of Xiao’s workshop at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire, in October 2016.

Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson said Ms Carr-Gomm announced on the first day of the workshop she had stopped taking her insulin, which Xiao “congratulated” her on.

Alongside other attendees she began to fast, but soon fell seriously unwell, "tired", "weak and "howling in pain" by day three.

By day four, Mrs Carr-Gomm had died of diabetic ketoacidosis.

The court case against Xiao hinged on whether he had a duty of care towards Mrs Carr-Gomm and whether he could reasonably have foreseen her death.

Giving evidence in his own defence, Xiao said he was not the organiser of the Wiltshire workshop but was paid a fee for leading it.

The former banker also stressed many times in court he was not a doctor, had no medical training and did not provide health care.

He described paida lajin as a self-healing method he taught to others, and repeatedly said he would never tell people to stop taking medicine suddenly.

But the prosecution maintained the high regard in which Mrs Carr-Gomm held Xiao meant he was in a "position of leadership and control over her care... and owed her a duty which he failed to meet".